Dream Series: The Random Invasion of the Akatsuki
by YukiIshiko
Summary: Yuki Ishiko secretly wishes that her life wasn't so boring. She shouldn't have done that! When the Akatsuki randomly appear and begin bossing her around, normalcy goes out the window. OC centered, AU.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Yes, I had this story up before but it wasn't quite right. This go round I hope it will make more sense. Also, this is based off a dream I had about the Akatsuki and the daydream I had about it afterwards. I do not own Naruto or any of that stuff at all. **

**FYI: Yuki has light blond/white hair with black tips. Her eyes are a dark blue color and sometimes appear dark purple or black. ENJOY.**

**Story start:**

Yuki Ishiko is not pleased. It had been a long and hard day working at the downtown library. How people could manage to make her upset in one of her favorite places was beyond her, yet it was to be expected. Despite the stress and aggravation, Yuki loved her job. Being around all those books and such made her feel as if everything was perfect. When she was not filing, tidying, or helping someone, she had time to catch up on her own reading.

As of late, Yuki spent her free time at the library reading manga. Manga had always interested her. There was something fantastic and wild about the stories she chose to read. It was like she was in a whole other world, even if just for a moment. The feeling of exhilaration she experienced from these moments was one she could not forget easily.

As with all things, Yuki went through obsessive phases of what she was reading. Her current obsession was a series called "Naruto." Not everything in it made sense to her. Perhaps reading ALL of it in ORDER would help, but the sad fact was that the library did not carry all of the books. She read what they did have on hand and any she hadn't as they were rechecked into the library.

Finally at home away from annoying people asking silly questions, Yuki settles onto the couch to read one of the other manga books she had brought home. It isn't long before she falls asleep, book in hand, and forgets about all her troubles.

**_The next morning …. _**

Yuki wakes up startled. She has no idea why, but she feels very strange. Mentally struggling, she tries to think of what day it is. Unable to figure it out, she trudges over to her calendar and sees that it is Saturday, a day off. Relieved, Yuki relaxes and eats some breakfast.

After clearing the breakfast dishes and gathering the trash, Yuki wrinkles her nose in disgust. The trash can is overfull again and has begun to smell quite terrible. With a sigh, Yuki hauls the trash bag out of the can and ties it up quickly. She unlocks the door and drags the bag behind her, deciding that the faster the job is done the better it would be for her.

Once outside, Yuki stuffs the bag into a larger trash bin and smiles sourly. She would have to make a trip to the city soon to dump the trash at the landfill. Yuck. Looking around, she sees nothing but trees and open countryside. Living in the country was nice, but it was sometimes a little lonely having no one else around. Yuki is so lost in her thoughts that she almost does not notice someone standing right behind her. Yuki turns to go back into the house and runs into a large shadowed figure behind her.

Yuki gasps and holds back a scream. What use was screaming anyway? Yuki's eyes rove upwards to meet a pair of glaring masculine eyes. Yuki mentally scrambles. This guy looks a little too familiar. Let's see. Long black cloak, red shapes on it, a mean and evil sort of glare, and a really serious expression. It suddenly dawns on Yuki that she must be delusional. How else could she explain an Akatsuki member standing in her backyard while she was on trash detail?

The cloaked figure rolls his eyes, then turns towards the left. Yuki's eyes follow his direction and her stomach flip-flops some more. More cloaked figures were running around in the side yard doing who knows what. Horrified, Yuki dashes up the porch stairs and rushes through the massive back door. With all the strength she can manage, Yuki slams the door closed and locks it. This makes her feel better though she knows a mere door wouldn't help her if the Akatsuki were serious about getting in. Sighing against the door, Yuki takes a few deep breathes to steady herself.

Yuki turns around to face the kitchen properly. To her horror, there are black-cloaked figures there too! Yuki screams now; this is just too much. She runs from the kitchen and falls into the living room. Oh, bad luck. More Akatsuki are there, watching television. As quickly as she can, Yuki gets to her room down the hall and slams the door. She locks the door, as if that would help, and slumps down into her chair, staring at the door. "Just how many of them are there?!" she wonders aloud.

Life just got a lot more complicated.

**TBC~ Please review if you like. **


	2. Chapter 2

_**Still do not own Naruto. Enjoy anyway!**_

**Story start:**

Yuki is still in her room, thinking, when she hears a loud explosion from outside. Curious as to what could make such a noise, she goes to the window and peeks through the curtain. When she sees a landscape different from the usual one, she opens the curtains wider. Taking in this peculiar scene, Yuki sees Itachi standing towards the back of the house. He must have been the one she ran into to begin with. Her eyes move on towards the figures bouncing around in the new landscape. One was wielding a large weapon and cackling. If memory served, that would be Hidan. The one throwing bombs had to be Deidara. Satisfied that she figured it out, Yuki is startled when Hidan yells at her. "Hey you dumb girl!" He points. "Stop looking at us!" Yuki doesn't move, so Hidan comes closer.

Yuki backs up from the window quickly and shuts the curtains. She hears Hidan make a derisive sound. "That's what I thought. Mind your own business and you stand a better chance of not dying." Yuki shivers. It was hard to keep herself from looking out the window with all the noises going on, but she wasn't willing to risk it all just for a few glimpses of something interesting.

Yuki decides to tidy her room a little, but doesn't get far before someone begins pounding on her door. Yuki looks at the door and timidly asks, "Who is it?"

A rough voice replies, "Get out here."

Yuki's eyes widen. "Do I look stupid to you?"

The same voice replies, "How should I know? I cannot see through doors. Now get out here before I tear down this pathetic excuse for a door."

Yuki doesn't move, but as promised, the door begins straining against the lock and hinges. Against her better judgment, Yuki unlocks the door. Whomever was trying to break in stops shoving the door and opens it instead. Yuki cringes upon seeing the person. She wasn't sure who this huge man was but with her luck he was probably very unfriendly.

Mercilessly, the large man grabs Yuki by the arm and drags her out of the room. Down the hall they go until they reach the living room again. Lots of cloaked figures greet them. Yuki quickly counts nine of them. Lovely. The man who dragged her out lets go of her and stalks over towards the others. Yuki holds her breathe. There was no way she could escape all of these people. Hopeless and dejected, she waits to see what will be said.

A man with lots of piercings speaks, though he doesn't step forward. "We require a place to stay for a while. You will provide us with that place and do nothing to jeopardize our time here." He says nothing else but stares intently at Yuki, clearly expecting compliance.

Yuki frowns. "Is there a reason that you all look like the Akatsuki from Naruto?"

The man with the piercings continues to glare. "You have no right to ask questions. Find everyone a place to bunk and prepare food. We are hungry and dislike waiting to eat." With that, he turns and leaves the room, taking the only girl in the group with him. Yuki is bewildered. The rest of the Akatsuki make their way outside, leaving Yuki to do as she was told.

Yuki inwardly groans. Her house only has 3 bedrooms, including her own. 10 people in 3 rooms wouldn't work out too well. After considering things, she decides that 4 people could fit in the overlarge living room, leaving 6 people to 3 rooms. 2 people to a room wasn't bad at all. Except that she would have to share her own room. Yuki shudders. No time to think about THAT now. She goes to her room to fetch the book she had borrowed from the library about Naruto characters.

Yuki reads the book while cooking. It isn't long before she has put a name to each character walking around in her yard. She already knew who Itachi, Hidan, and Deidara were. She identified the piercings guy as "Leader" and the girl as "Konan." The others of course were Kisame (the blue guy), Sasori (the one who kept looking at her paintings), Kakuzu (the one who tried to take down her door), and Zetsu (the one currently engrossed with her garden). Yuki puts all the food on the kitchen table and wonders why she was even bothering to obey them.

A moment later, the back door flies open and bangs against the wall as they all rush inside for food. Within moments, all the food is gone, leaving Yuki to pick through mountains of dishes and debris. Disgusted, Yuki cleans up and washes all the dishes again.

When Yuki enters the living room, Kisame smirks at her. "Leader and Konan already claimed a room, as did Hidan and Kakuzu." Yuki's eyes widen. Kisame laughs, "Someone has to watch Hidan or he will ruin everything. I presume the rest of us stay in here?" Kisame gestures to himself, Itachi, Zetsu and Deidara.

Yuki begins to nod, then stops. "Where is Sasori?"

Itachi clicks the tv remote, changing the channel three or four times. "I believe he went into the other bedroom."

Yuki pales. "Please tell me he didn't go to MY room…" She doesn't wait for an answer but runs straight to her room. With a feeling of dread, she opens the door and finds that another bed has appeared in her room. Loads of other things clutter the room, things she had never seen before. Sasori scowls at her. "I need quiet so you had better be that." She notes his serious expression, so she just nods. Picking her way through the new mess, she gets to 'her' side of the room and digs out a book. She reads quietly and Sasori seems to approve. As usual, Yuki falls asleep reading and the whole house is quiet bar a few soft snores.

**TBC!~ Review if you like. **


	3. Chapter 3

**OH GREAT NEWS! I still don't own Naruto haha.**

**Story start:**

Yuki awakes with a feeling of dread. Her room still looks like it had been overtaken by a storm of tools, but Sasori was no where in sight. Yuki stretches and gathers some things to take to the bathroom. She notes that the house is suspiciously empty as she makes her way to the bathroom to start her day. Yuki showers, dresses, and prepares for work. She almost forgets the strange goings on as she heads to the kitchen for breakfast.

The only sign that proved to Yuki that others were in her house was the state of the kitchen. It was ransacked and completely filthy again. Yuki decides to ignore the mess; she didn't have much time to clean now anyway. After a quick meal and cup of tea, Yuki heads out the door and towards her car.

Just as she opens the car door to get in, someone slams it shut. "Where do you think you are going?" Yuki looks up, alarmed, and sees that Kisame is the one asking.

Yuki shrugs. "Going to work?"

Kisame snorts. "Leader said you are not to leave, so you aren't going anywhere short-stuff."

Yuki becomes angry at his remark, but holds her tongue. She didn't like being called short, but telling a man who was over a foot taller than her and shark-like was probably not the greatest idea in the world. Instead, Yuki says, "Leader said? Doesn't he realize I need to go to work to earn money?"

Kakuzu perks up at hearing the word "money." He approaches her, as do all the others. He says, "Money, you say?"

Yuki nods. "Yeah, when you go to work you get a paycheck every so often. If I don't go, I don't get paid. If I don't get paid, I can't do very much."

Kakuzu mulls over what she said before saying, "She needs to make money. Someone will just have to go with her to make sure she doesn't try to run away or tell someone about us."

Kisame throws his hands up. "Not me."

Kakuzu looks around the group. "I cannot go, as Hidan and myself have a mission to do. Who is willing to go?"

No one says anything. Yuki growls and says through clenched teeth, "I don't need a babysitter you know. I have gone to work at the library numerous times without incident."

Kisame laughs. "You work at a library? That is a pretty strange place to work!" When Yuki does not join in his laughter, he stops. "Come on kid, libraries are just loads of books. What is the big deal?"

Kakuzu smacks Kisame's arm. "Books can be very useful, as a matter of fact." He looks around again. "Itachi, you like books don't you? Go with Yuki to the library and make sure nothing happens."

Itachi glares at him. "Who said you tell me what to do, hn?"

Kakuzu and Itachi participate in a staring contest. Said contest is broken when Leader approaches and speaks. "Why are you all crowded around here instead of doing what I told you to?"

Itachi mutters, "Kakuzu thinks I should go with the little girl to her job at the library, even though you said she should not leave, Leader."

Leader addresses Kakuzu. "You are going against my orders?"

Kakuzu replies, "She has a job that earns her money, Leader. If we are to stay her for a time, she must have monetary means to provide for herself and us. I certainly am not going to give her any of our money."

Leader seems to think about things for a long moment. Yuki is wondering if she will EVER get to go when he finally says, "Itachi, go with the girl to her job. Girl, if you try to flee or tell anyone about us, Itachi will get rid of you. Do you understand?"

Yuki looks at him, feeling smaller and stupider if that were even possible. "Yeah?"

Leader nods. "Then go. Come straight back when your shift is over." Without further ado, Leader disappears. All the other Akatsuki scramble off too, leaving Yuki standing there with Itachi.

Yuki shrugs and gets into the car. She is not at all surprised to find that Itachi is already in the passenger seat of the car, buckled up. Without any more interruptions, Yuki makes her way to work.

**TBC~**


	4. Chapter 4

**Still don't own Naruto. /shrugs/**

**Story start:**

Yuki walks into the library with a sense of confidence. Sure, the Akatsuki had taken over her home and made her feel like an insignificant insect, but here at the library she felt free. She glides in happily, ready to start her job, when the head librarian approaches her. Yuki's stomach drops. Why in the world should the head librarian approach her with such an angry face?

The mystery is soon solved. The head librarian squawks, "You are late Yuki! Is it because you had to bring your boyfriend with you? You know how we at the library feel about personal relationships."

Yuki is flabbergasted. "Boyfriend?" The head librarian points past her to Itachi. Yuki nearly chokes. "He is NOT my boyfriend Mrs. Leech. He is … uh." She falters. What would be a reasonable explanation?

The head librarian taps her foot. "I'm waiting Ms. Ishiko."

Yuki blurts out, "He's just kind of new in the neighborhood. He's never been to this library before and wanted to check it out."

The head librarian peers closely at Yuki, making her shudder inwardly. "And how exactly did that make you late?"

Before Yuki can reply, Itachi says, "I was not ready to leave Ma'am. Yuki patiently waited for me. A nice gesture, considering that she could have just left without me. Admittedly, that would make me not want to come, so there you have it."

The head librarian's eyes widen behind her glasses. She stands a little taller, adjusts her wire-rimmed glasses and smoothes down her hair. After that, she says, "Well, well. I suppose that makes sense. Let's not let it happen again. Yuki! To work. And you sir, please enjoy our humble establishment." With that, Mrs. Leech goes back to her office and leaves Yuki standing there in shock.

Itachi grumbles at her, "Don't just stand there. Do your job. I can't help you any further."

Yuki snaps out of it. "Right!" She smiles shakily at him, then goes on to her library duties. Itachi watches her all day, much to her concern. When a fellow worker comments about her 'new admirer,' Yuki all but faints. She spends the rest of her time fending off remarks about it and hopes it will be over soon.

Happily, her shift at the library is indeed over quickly. She gets into the car and looks around. Itachi is no where to be seen. She waits for a moment before starting the car and driving away. At the crossroad down the street, Yuki spots Itachi standing beside the road. There is no way to avoid him; she has to stop at the stop sign. Itachi opens the door and gets in when she does stop. Yuki waits for him to buckle up before continuing to drive. Without being asked, Itachi says, "I didn't want your friends to bother me with stupid questions. It's better all around if people don't know we are going back to the same place, yes?"

Yuki nods. "I get it. Sort of sneaky, huh?" She looks at him but he gives no answer. "Did you find anything you liked at the library?" No answer. "Nothing at all?" Still no answer. Yuki fumes. "Did you see any pink elephants or polka-dotted zebras?"

Itachi refuses to look at her but says, "Hn."

Yuki replies, "Fine, you win. I give up. I'll turn on the radio instead." She turns on the music, only to have Itachi turn it off.

Itachi whispers, "No noise."

Yuki whines, "But I like to have music when I am driving."

Itachi grabs the wheel and puts the car off the road. Alarmed, Yuki hits the brakes and the car skids to a stop. She looks at him like he is crazy. "What did you do that for?"

Itachi does not answer her. He merely gets out of the car, walks around, opens the driver's door and hauls her out. Yuki digs in her heels, trying to not be moved, but it doesn't work. Itachi shoves her into the passenger side and he is in the driver's seat when she sits up properly. Yuki asks, "Do you even know HOW to drive?"

Itachi says nothing but starts the car. He gets back on the road and continues on as if nothing happened. When Yuki opens her mouth again, he says, "I said no noise. Be quiet." Yuki decides it's best to not anger him, so she remains silent. The rest of the car ride goes by in silence, much to Itachi's pleasure.

When they arrive back at the house, Yuki cannot contain her shock. "What happened to my house?!" Itachi of course does not answer her, so she rants on to herself. "It looks nothing like it's supposed to! How? Why? Good grief." That last was uttered as they pulled up behind the house. The only thing that looked the same about the house was the back door. Yuki covers her eyes and then uncovers them. Nope, still a strange looking building in place of her house. Darn.

Itachi slams the car door, making Yuki jump. She gets out of the car before he can get more irritated and makes her way to the new house. Once inside, Yuki is again flabbergasted. Leader and the others are spread out in a newly fashioned main room. Itachi flops down on a couch and promptly ignores all queries about how things went.

Leader says, "Your house was too small to accommodate us comfortably, so we made changes. Now everyone has a room and there are more places for us to do our stuff too."

Yuki cannot contain her questions, "You still never told me why you all are at my house? Or what you are even doing?"

Leader scowls at her. "You have no right to ask. Do what you are told or be ended, it is that simple."

Yuki retorts, "It is NOT that simple. I DO have a right to know why you all are bothering ME. I didn't do anything to you lot and yet you barge in here uninvited and act like I am the criminal!"

Yuki finds herself slammed against the wall. Konan has Yuki by the throat, cutting off her air supply. Konan hisses, "When Leader says something, you listen. You do not respond, you do not answer unless he asks you something. Understand pipsqueak?"

Yuki gasps for air. Unable to get any, she shakes her head no.

Konan presses harder. "What is there to not understand? You do what you are told and nothing more!"

Yuki's face changes colors as she tries to deal with the situation. She can no longer move, so Konan releases her grip some. Finally able, Yuki mutters, "Whatever. Where's my room now?"

Konan drops Yuki and she falls to the floor with a thud. She rubs her throat and stands up shakily. Sasori glides forward and leads her to her room. To her surprise, all of his stuff is in there too. Seeing her confusion, Sasori says, "Leader thinks it best if you are not left alone."

Yuki sighs. That figures. Before she can do anything, Deidara bursts into the room. "Yuki! Leader says you need to go fetch more food un!"

Yuki looks at him. "More food?"

Deidara nods. "Yeah, un. More food. We ate all the stuff here already, un."

Yuki's eye twitches some. "And who is going to trail behind me this time?"

Deidara shrugs. "No idea, un. Not me though!" He prances out of the room and Yuki has the urge to go after him and smack him. Sasori seems to read her thoughts when he says, "That brat is always making me angry." She looks at him thoughtfully. "Anyway, you had better go get more food. This lot does not improve when hungry."

Yuki sighs, picks her purse up, and walks back out the door. As she gets to the main room, she calls out, "Going to the store for food, be back later!"

A strong hand grabs her arm. "Not alone."

Yuki turns to see Kakuzu glaring down at her. "Then who is following me around this time?"

Kakuzu replies, "I suppose I will. Hurry up, we haven't got all day."

Yuki frowns. "I can't go."

Kakuzu looks at her angrily. "Why in blue blazes not?"

Yuki points at Itachi. "He still has my car keys."

Kakuzu stomps over to Itachi. "The car keys Uchiha."

Itachi replies, "Hn."

Kakuzu holds out his hand. "The car keys NOW Uchiha."

Itachi ignores him. Yuki wonders how long this argument will go on. Before long, Kakuzu is yelling at Itachi, who doesn't seem to care at all. No one notices Yuki when she takes the spare key from a jar in the kitchen and leaves.

**At the grocery store …**

Yuki picks up all kinds of foods. She has no idea what the guys and Konan would like or dislike. As she shops, she tries to think of ways to get out of this situation. The most obvious was to simply not go home again, but that could be fatal. The Akatsuki would assume she ran away and possibly look for her. There was no way she could hide from a bunch of ninjas on the prowl. There had to be something else she could do.

As she moves through the store, she gets the feeling someone is watching her. Quickly, she turns around, but there is no one there. Yuki keeps having the odd feeling, but there is never any person near her. It creeps her out to the point of severe distraction; she forgets to plan an escape.

Before long, Yuki finds herself at home again, unloading the groceries. Kakuzu and Itachi are still arguing in the main room, while most of the other members watch in bored fascination. Yuki puts everything away and hides the spare key again. She enters the main room and waits a full minute before speaking.

"I already went to the store and came back. Geez, grow up will ya?"

Kakuzu and Itachi look at her with confusion. Kakuzu says, "How did you go without the keys?"

Zetsu, who Yuki hadn't noticed there before, replies, "She had a spare."

Yuki looks at him in shock. "How did you know that?" she asks.

Zetsu stares at her with his gleaming eyes. "I followed you, of course. Didn't you feel my gaze?"

Yuki suddenly realized why she kept feeling like she was being watched: she WAS being watched. Yuki shrugs a little and says, "Well that figures. I need a nap so later." She quickly dashes off to her room, only to find the door locked. She groans. "Aw, really?"

A moment later, the door opens. Sasori says, "It's just you. Get in here before Deidara comes back." She runs in quickly and he locks the door back. "That brat keeps trying to get in here to show me his art. Stupid, stupid things; they just explode and cease to exist."

Yuki nods. To be honest, she didn't want a bunch of exploding art in her house. Well, her former house. She forgot about all the changes they made. "Can you tell me something?"

Sasori replies, "Make it quick."

Yuki asks, "How many rooms are in the house now?"

Sasori shrugs, "Enough for our purposes I suppose. A lot more than there used to be. Each person has their own space, except for you and me, and there's common areas and such too."

Yuki asks, "How long are you all going to be here?"

He looks at her seriously, "I cannot tell you that. What I can tell you is that you should get used to it."

Yuki inwardly groans. It seemed like the Akatsuki were planning to stay a lot longer than she wanted. Frustrated, Yuki flops onto her bed to take a nap, while Sasori continues working on his current piece of art.

**TBC~**


	5. Chapter 5

**Ownage of Naruto still isn't mine. Enjoy this dream-inspired story anyway!**  
**Story start:**

Several weeks go by and Yuki is finally used to having the Akatsuki all over the place. The only time she ever sees them all together is at mealtimes. Even then, they didn't all always show up. Whatever they were doing, they did it constantly. Yuki almost never saw any of them around the house and when she did she was certain it was because it was their turn to baby sit her. Yuki tries to not let it bother her anymore. Her co-workers had long since stopped asking her about the random people who came with her to work, and no one ever came out to visit her either. All in all, life was almost back to normal.

Almost, except for the fact that it wasn't. Her yard was always changing forms and explosions were always occurring. Yuki figured out they were using illusions to make everything look different. They appeared to be sparring or practicing or something, but Yuki wasn't allowed to watch them so she couldn't be sure. The only thing she was sure of was that they didn't seem to want to leave.

Day after day, it became clear to Yuki that the Akatsuki had made her home a base of sorts. Strange, but what could she do about it? Any time she tried to escape, one of them would recapture her. The last time had been almost fatal to her and she hadn't tried again since.

***Flashback* **

_Yuki waltzes out to her car on the pretense of getting some forgotten item. When the coast is clear, she cranks up the car and throws it into reverse. She books it down the driveway, only to have the tires popped. Yuki looks in her rearview mirror to see Hidan coming after her. Horrified, she gets out of the car and runs. Big mistake. Hidan wields his giant weapons far better than she ever imagined; his blows hits her several times even though she is nowhere near him. Each time she is knocked down, she scrambles back up and tries to run. And each time she runs he knocks her down again. Covered in cuts and bleeding too much, Yuki collapses onto the ground and wonders if it is all over. Everything goes black at that point, leaving Yuki in the dark. _

***End Flashback***

Yuki had woken up from that last attempt covered in bandages. Sasori had frowned at her and asked, "Why do you keep trying to run away? We haven't truly harmed you in any way."

Yuki hadn't immediately replied . When she did, she said, "I don't know why I keep trying. It seems like I ought to."

Sasori said nothing for awhile. Then, "If it's not broken, why try to repair it? You cannot improve something that is already well tuned."

Yuki realized he was right, of course. There was no reason to act insane when they hadn't given her a reason to be. If and when things changed, then she could do something stupid and wild. But for the moment, things didn't have to be that complicated. After that, Yuki found the Akatsuki gave her more space instead of crowding her all the time. She knew they still followed her to work and around town doing errands, but they didn't insist on being right beside her so much. Sometimes they did, which was fine by her, because unwilling company was better than no company at all.

As time went on, though, Yuki felt the urge to go someplace different anyway. She asks and begs them to let her go somewhere alone, but the answer is always no.

**No.**

No.

**Guess what? No. **

Yuki is beyond frustrated with all the no's. Hadn't she proved she could be trusted by now? Irritated, Yuki waits until all of the Akatsuki at the house are asleep before leaving the house. She doesn't bother to take the car; that would wake them up. Instead, she just walks. It was a win-win. Walking made no noise, and if one of them caught her she could always pretend she was sleepwalking. As is turns out, no one comes after her. They truly were asleep and she finally gets out there on her own.

**TBC~~ **


	6. Chapter 6

**Now, this gets beyond my actual dream and into the daydreaming bit I did to finish it.**

**Story start:**

Yuki gets to the city after quite a bit of walking. Happy, she wonders around and experiences things she had all but forgotten about. She watches a few movies, goes to the mall, and even rides a public bus around just for the fun of it. All kidding aside, Yuki is thrilled to be out and about without anyone from the Akatsuki staring at her. It is a great feeling.

Meanwhile, back at the house, Leader is furious. "What do you mean, **she isn't here**? I have need of her and she is not available? Where is she then? Who is watching her?"

Hidan shouts, "No one is freaking watching her! She flipping doodle disappeared over night! How the fudge bars are we supposed to keep tabs on her all the ding dang time?"

Leader ignores Hidan's rant. "No one was watching her?"

Everyone shakes their head no.

Leader sighs. "We have to find her. When the plan goes into effect, we don't want her caught in it."

Deidara chimes in, "Does it really matter if she's caught in it or not?"

Leader glares at him. "Of course it does. She plays a role in the plan and we cannot hope to get back on track with the plan without her. No more talk. Everyone go and search for her. Bring her back alive."

No one dares to dispute Leader's orders. With a nod, Leader turns and stalks off. The others abandon the house to search for Yuki.

**_Back to Yuki …_**

Yuki is enjoying herself at a club when she gets a sudden chill up her spine. Setting her drink down on the bar, she swivels on her stool and looks around. To her horror, she sees a pair of the Akatsuki sweeping quickly through the crowd. Yuki tosses a few dollars onto the counter and slides off the stool. No WAY was she going to just sit there and he nabbed, not this time!

Yuki goes in the opposite direction of Kisame and Zetsu, hoping they will not see her. Luck is not with her. A deep voice calls over the den of music and drunken laughter. "Yuki, stop."

Yuki thinks for a moment. Without looking, she plunges into the crowd further. She hears an audible groan as she makes her way towards the side door. With insane fervor, Yuki tries to get to the door without being grabbed. Just as she gets there, a strong hand grabs her wrist and yanks. Yuki finds herself pulled back from the door and raised off the floor a few inches.

Kisame glares at her. "I said for you to stop, why didn't you?"

Yuki shrugs. "I don't want to go home right now, is that such a crime?"

Zetsu, who was getting some funny looks from other club patrons, says, "You left in the middle of the night without telling anyone. Leader is furious and I would be surprised if you live at all after this stunt." His other half cackles. "If you don't make it, we might get to have a nice meal."

Yuki pales a bit. "Yeah, well. I am not going with you so there!"

Kisame snorts. "And where do you think you are going?"

Yuki puffs out a little. "Jail, most likely."

Before either man can ask her what she means, Yuki throws herself towards the side door. The sudden movement makes Kisame tilt over. Unbalanced, he is forced to let Yuki go so he doesn't fall down. Free, Yuki runs to the door and shoves. As the door opens, a shrill alarm blares and the sprinklers overhead begin releasing water at a rapid rate.

Yuki literally falls out of the door as it swings. Confused, Kisame and Zetsu bumble out of the club's side door after Yuki. Kisame snatches Yuki up off the ground and growls, "What did you do?"

Another voice yells, "Hands up! You lot are under arrest!"

Kisame turns to see several uniformed men standing there, guns pointed at the three of them. Kisame laughs. "What the heck are you guys on about?"

One of the officers repeats, "Hands up! Cooperate or we will use force!"

Kisame laughs again, and the officers march forward to use their so-called force.

**_Yuki's house, an hour later … _**

Leader glares at her. "Yuki Ishiko, what were you thinking? You have nearly cost us all of our hard work. Do you have anything to say for yourself?" When she doesn't answer, he continues. "Care to explain that then?" He points to a pile of policemen in the corner.

Yuki sighs. "I used a fire exit door when there wasn't a fire and the police came to arrest me but Kisame and Zetsu were there too so Kisame walloped all of them and Zetsu dragged them here so they couldn't tell anyone anything."

Leader sighs and closes his eyes. He counts inwardly to ten before speaking again. "You realize you are a part of our plan, don't you? The only reason you are still alive is so that you can serve your purpose in the plan. Doing anything contrary to that is just bad on you."

Yuki blinks rapidly. "Me? You are using ME for a plan? How? I know nothing about anything you are doing and I am not even a ninja!"

Another voice interrupts, making Yuki's skin crawl. "She truly knows nothing." The deep voice continues. "Stop harassing her. It's best if she doesn't know it all because then she cannot ruin it."

Yuki looks around wildly trying to figure out who is talking. A man steps from the shadows behind Leader. "Stop looking around like an idiot."

Yuki flinches, then shudders. She looks at the ground before muttering, "What is going on here?"

Itachi speaks up, "I would like to know as well, Madara."

The other Akatsuki members gasp. Madara looks around. "In due time, I shall tell you. But not now. Everyone will now dismiss themselves. I need to talk to the girl alone."

There was a bit of groaning and fussing, but everyone left the room. Yuki was terrified. She had been catching up on her reading, and if her memory was right, being alone with Madara would prove to be a horrible thing indeed.

Madara smirks at the girl who won't even look at him. "You are just a sad, scared little girl, aren't you? That suits me just fine. We are going to have a nice little chat, then you will know your place."

**TBC~~**


	7. Chapter 7

**No, I don't own Naruto. Yes, this part of the story is more daydream than dream inspired. **

**Story start:**

Yuki swallows the lump in her throat. Being scared was not a new feeling to her, yet the feeling she had at the moment seemed to surpass the emotion entirely. Trying not to seem too frightened, Yuki looks up at Madara. She says, "What do you want to talk about?"

Madara says, "Since you clearly know nothing about ninja except for what you have read, let us discuss how you came to own that necklace."

Yuki frowns and absent-mindedly touches her necklace. It was a short red and silver chain. The front half was silver, the back half was red. The only other part to the necklace were the three medium sized red circles on the front, each bearing various black and white marks. "My necklace?" she asks.

Madara nods. "I am very interested to know how you got it. That will answer most of my questions, to be honest."

Yuki struggles to remember where the necklace came from. She had had it so long, it seemed like she had always had it. After a few moments of silence, Yuki replies, "It's always been with me. I have no idea where it came from."

Madara glares at her. "You will tell me more or you will dislike the consequences." His eyes darken upon that remark, making Yuki very uncomfortable.

Yuki stutters for a moment before managing to speak clearly. "That is the truth, I have no idea."

Madara growls a little bit. "Surely you can think of SOMETHING?"

Yuki is clearly uncomfortable. "Well, I found a letter about it in my mailbox once. It said I ought to keep the necklace on, always."

Madara frowns again. "Always?" Yuki nods. "Anything else?"

Yuki thinks for a moment. "The letter said the necklace was my inheritance, but I had had it for a long time before that." She frowns, thinking about it.

Madara laughs. "Your inheritance, hmm? I suppose that means it is supposed to only work for you then."

It is Yuki's turn to look stunned. "Works? How does a necklace do work? It just looks nice!"

Madara pinches the bridge of his nose and groans. "Don't be a daft idiot girl. That is no ordinary necklace. That necklace is an heirloom piece that has been missing from it's rightful place among artifacts for generations."

Yuki asks, "So, this thing is stolen?"

Madara doesn't answer immediately. When he does speak, he ignores her question. "Give me the necklace and we won't bother you anymore."

Yuki touches the necklace again. Madara impatiently waits for her to hand it over. Yuki frowns as she thinks of the last thing the letter had said in bolded letters.

"Never give the necklace to anyone. No matter what they say, it isn't theirs to demand."

Yuki stares at Madara's outstretched hand and wonders if she can survive telling him "no."

**TBC!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Do you own Naruto? … I don't either. /sad/ **

**Story start:**

Madara glares at Yuki. "Give me that necklace!"

Yuki backs away from him. "I cannot."

Madara frowns. "What did you say?"

Yuki repeats herself in a barely audible whisper. "I cannot."

Madara stomps forward and tries to take the necklace by force. Upon touching the necklace, however, an electric shock leaves the necklace and renders Madara unable to grasp it. Shaken, he stares at the piece with much hatred. "Give me that necklace right now you silly chit. It's clearly too much for a girl like you. You want to live a normal life, right? That necklace will attract all kinds of attention that you don't want. Hand it over and all that will stop."

Yuki frowns even more. "The Akatsuki appearing is the only strange thing that has happened so far. And anyway, the letter told me to never ever give it away, so I won't!"

Madara loses his temper and grabs Yuki in an iron grip. He violently shakes her and yells, "You don't even know where it came from or who gave it to you! Why take directions from a letter? Especially since the writer isn't even here to make you! Shouldn't you be more concerned with the REAL threat in front of you?"

Yuki is rethinking the whole 'keeping the necklace' gig when she is ripped out of Madara's grip. Completely disoriented, Yuki has no idea what just happened. Madara is sourly glaring at someone besides her, so she turns to see who. Zetsu stands nearby with his arms crossed. Zetsu says, "Hurting the girl will do no good Madara. Surely there are better ways to get what you want?"

Madara grins wickedly. "You are right Zetsu. There are much better ways to gain what I seek." Madara takes another step towards Yuki, who yelps and covers her eyes.

Yuki whimpers. "Please, leave me alone, I didn't do anything wrong." Yuki waits in fear for something to happen. When nothing does, she uncovers her eyes and looks around. In pure disbelief, Yuki looks around her original not-modified house. Everything was back to normal. No weird plants, no strange rooms, and no extra people.

Yuki didn't know if she should shout for joy or cry. After checking the whole area and making sure it was truly back to normal, Yuki settles for simply sighing and letting all the stress she had go.

**Outside her home … **

Madara smirks as he speaks to the Akatsuki members. "See, she is much more relaxed now. She may even think it wasn't real. Getting the necklace back will be easy once she calms down."

Itachi grunts, "What good is the necklace without the girl? Leader said she was important to our plan."

Madara dismisses the comment. "The girl does not matter. The plan can go forward without her interaction."

He continues, "I want that necklace soon. Whomever delivers that necklace to me will get a fabulous reward of their choosing. Get to it!" With that, Madara stalks off and leaves the others to sneak around in Yuki's yard.

**TBC!**


	9. Chapter 9

**I still do not own Naruto. This story is longer than I thought XD The dream isn't that long, I suppose, but the daydreaming to finish it seems endless. Ah well. **

**Story start:**

Yuki found life without the Akatsuki following her around was somewhat boring. She was alone all the time, and no one ever seemed to care what she was doing. Yuki didn't let that get her down though! Yuki found all sorts of things to do in her free time to keep herself busy.

Her latest hobby was getting ready for an Anime Convention. She was admittedly nervous but still excited as the number of days to wait got smaller.

Soon, it was time to go and Yuki went dressed as a character of her own invention. People commented on her clothes and props every which way that she went. Clearly, her costume was not a failure, even though it wasn't for a recognizable character. Feeling happy, Yuki wonders through the crowd of people, not noticing she was being watched and followed.

Stopping at a stall that is selling plushies, Yuki is absorbed in shopping. It is only when she leaves the stand that she realizes there is a boy in front of her trying to gain her attention. Her eyes widen. In a low tone she says, "Hey, you're that boy from Jade's party that time on the yacht! What are you doing here?"

The boy smiles. "Giving you a helping hand, of course. The Akatsuki have gotten too close to you and the necklace. Come with me if you don't want them to kill you for it."

Yuki rolls her eyes. "I should have guessed that costume meant you were obsessed with that Naruto manga too. Well, great job but I have to get going now. I am so not dealing with more drama right now." She tries to move past him, but he stands in front of her with a growing glare.

The boy speaks again. "This is not a game Yuki. The Akatsuki are real and they are still after you. You are in danger as we speak. If you don't believe me, look to your left and to your right. You will see four different Akatsuki members who seems rather more authentic than the masses of copies around them."

Yuki sniffles, but looks left and right anyway. To her annoyance, the boy is right. She looks at him again. "Why do you care what happens to me anyway?"

The boy sighs. "You are the only hope I have of keeping the Akatsuki's plans from occurring. If they don't have that necklace they will have to give up. We don't have time for you to be sentimental, let's get out of here!" The boy grabs her arm and beings dragging her along.

Yuki protests, "Who do you think you are pulling me around?"

Another person hauls on Yuki's arm, making her stop midair. Yuki twists to see that Itachi is there, glaring as usual. Yuki rolls her eyes. "Not now, I have serious things to discuss with my would-be kidnapper."

Itachi ignores her. "Why are you involved with this Sasuke?"

Yuki gasps. She thinks. Sasuke was the name of Itachi's brother. Something is really not right here.

Sasuke tugs on Yuki, but she doesn't fall out of Itachi's grasp. Irritated, Sasuke says, "She is the last real Ishiko I could find. Madara cannot take the necklace from her forcibly and he cannot complete the Akatsuki's plans without it."

Yuki yells, "WHAT FREAKING PLAN?!"

Both boys ignore her. Itachi lets go of Yuki's arm and shrugs. "Get her out of here then. Make sure no one stops you."

Sasuke goes, "Hn." He then continues dragging Yuki away, much to her dismay. They stop in a secluded corner, giving Sasuke a chance to answer Yuki's question. "Madara is a bit insane. He wants to take over this world and make everyone do his bidding. It wouldn't be hard to do, since the people of this world are so weak and easily manipulated." He pauses. "The thing is, in order to fully use his power here, he would need your necklace to channel it from our world to this one."

Yuki stares at him. "What is this 'our world' you are prattling on about?"

"The ninja world of course. The people here call it Naruto, but there's a lot more to it than that blond boy's story."

Yuki shakes her head. "Okay, but that doesn't explain why you are trying to help me?"

Sasuke shrugs. "Only an Ishiko can keep the necklace safe. That would be you."

Yuki pokes Sasuke as he turns to walk off. "Why me? Surely there's another Ishiko somewhere that could do this? A ninja perhaps?"

He doesn't look at her when he replies, "The necklace can only have one true owner and it selected you to be that. You may not be a ninja, but you are related to the Ishiko after all. They were pretty ferocious and manipulative ninjas and they had a lot of strict rules." He shrugs.

Yuki asks, "Had…? Don't they still have..?" 

Sasuke shakes his head no. "The Ishiko are no more in my world. You are the only Ishiko I have found in either world. Therefore, the duty to protect the necklace falls to you."

Yuki laughs, "Now I know you are pulling my chain. I find it hard to believe that you think my family comes from your world and now they are all gone."

Sasuke smirks. "You don't have any family in this world, do you? You have always been alone except for whatever friends you made, isn't that right?" When Yuki does not answer, he continues. "You didn't originally come from this world, you came from ours. Your parents made sure you were as far away from that as possible, to ensure there would be Ishiko somewhere."

Yuki shakes her head frantically. "You're lying! I'm not a manga character!" Upset, Yuki runs away from him and ends up in the girls' bathroom. Finally free of any unwanted prying eyes, Yuki bursts into tears and wonders why things have to be so complicated.

**TBC~~**


	10. Chapter 10

**Blah blah, still don't own Naruto.**

**Story start:**

Yuki knew that she could not spend the rest of her life in the bathroom, but she had to think without interruptions for a moment. Sasuke's little outburst had upset her. She knew he had to be lying but wondered what his reasons for doing so were. Having no clue, Yuki shakes her head.

Absent mindedly, Yuki takes out her cell phone and dials the first number on her contact list. It rings several times before a friendly-sounding lady answers.

_"Hello, Black Rose Manor, this is Madeline speaking. May I help you?"_

_Yuki hesitates before saying, "Yes. This is Yuki. May I please speak to Ms. Kurai?"_

_Madeline replies, "I'm sorry, but Kurai isn't available to speak with."_

_Yuki sighs into the phone. "Can you tell me how she is doing then?"_

_Madeline huffily answers, "I'm sorry ma'am but that is none of your business." _

_Yuki sits up a little more. "Excuse me? Kurai Ishiko is my mother, I think her well being IS my business." _

_There is a long silence. Then, "Oh my.. Are you Yuki Ishiko?" _

_Yuki groans softly. "Yes, I am Yuki Ishiko. Who else would want to speak to Kurai?" _

_Madeline apologetically responds, "I don't know ma'am. I was told not to let Ms. Kurai use the phone because she tends to get overexcited." _

_Yuki sighs. "I know. I just want to know if she's having a good day or a bad day, that way I know if it's a good time to come or not." _

_Madeline responds, "Actually, Ms. Kurai has been looking out the windows all day. I think she's expecting company." _

_Yuki nods, even though Madeline cannot see her. "I'll be there in a bit. Thanks." _

_Madeline cheerily says, "Okay! Goodbye ma'am!"_

Yuki hangs up her cell phone and ponders what Sasuke said some more. The main part of his argument was that Yuki had no family. But … she did have family here. Her mother, Kurai Ishiko, was alive and well at Black Rose Manor. Before the Akatsuki had came into her life, Yuki had went to the Manor at least once every week or two. She couldn't very well go when the Akatsuki were following her every move, so she had had to settle for calling every other day instead. It had been so long since she had seen her mother, Yuki couldn't picture their last visit. That thought bothered her endlessly. It was high time to end that trend and get out there before anything else could happen.

Yuki leaves the bathroom with the intention of leaving the convention to go to the Manor. Unfortunately, the Akatsuki were waiting for her, Sasuke in tow. She frowns at them all. "What is your problem now?" she asks.

Madara laughs, "Just hand over the necklace and you need never be bothered by us again."

It is Yuki's turn to laugh. "I somehow doubt that very much. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to prove Sasuke wrong."

Sasuke struggles against his restraints and half-yells, "How are you going to prove me wrong? You are who I said and that is that. What is there to be wrong about?"

Yuki turns towards Sasuke before answering, "You said I had no family here? That my family put me here to ensure the survival of the bloodline?"

Sasuke nods. "You live alone. No one ever comes to visit. You clearly have no family."

Yuki makes an unladylike snort. "Shows what you know. I am going to go see my non-existent family now, so shove off."

Sasuke manages to get free of the Akatsuki. He grabs Yuki and jumps, taking both of them high into the air. Yuki screams, but he muffles the sound by covering her mouth. A few moments later finds Yuki being bundled into a strange car that shortly after begins speeding down the road.

Yuki sits up in the back seat and protests, "Where are you taking me?"

Sasuke doesn't look back. As he drives insanely, he asks, "Where is this family of yours? We have to get to them before the Akatsuki do."

Yuki grudgingly tells him where to go. They arrive a few minutes later, much to Yuki's surprise. The trip usually took half an hour; they were there in ten minutes. Yuki thanks her lucky stars no cops had pulled them over. She would never have been able to explain what was going on.

Sasuke reads the sign of the place aloud. "Black Rose Manor, Home for the Mentally Insane?"

Yuki nods. "My mother lives here. She's always ranting about the strangest things, though right about now I think maybe she isn't as crazy as I thought."

Sasuke says, "Such as?"

Yuki shrugs, "Like all the tirades she went on about other worlds and people who move through them. I never paid any attention to her wild stories because I thought they were just that, wild stories. But, here you lot are. And she's not sounding so crazy now. Does that make sense?"

Sasuke nods. "Sometimes the truth sounds more impossible than the lie."

Yuki says nothing else, but heads into the building. The woman at the desk looks at their appearance apprehensively, but says nothing. After proving she had reasons to be there, Yuki and Sasuke are allowed into the inner rooms to go see Kurai.

It takes a full ten minutes to locate Kurai. When Kurai sees her daughter, she smiles. When she sees Sasuke, she hisses and throws a book at him. Sasuke dodges the book and keeps his distance. Satisfied with that, Kurai turns her attention to Yuki. She says, "I knew you would finally come. The others are not here yet, but they will be. You must tell me what you don't know so I can fix it."

Yuki sighs. "Mother, does this necklace mean anything to you?" Yuki taps her necklace.

Kurai giggles childishly. "It's a powerful thing. I'm glad you have it. It would never let me use it. But it wasn't meant to be used by me." Kurai becomes silent. "Oops, we took too long. The other party guests are here and in a right rage it seems."

Yuki blinks and looks around. There is no one there. She is about to tell her mother something else when the door flies off the hinges and lands with a crash across the room. The Akatsuki, led by Madara, file into the room and stand there menacingly.

Before Sasuke can do anything, Itachi grabs him and they both disappear. Yuki looks around wildly, but there is simply nothing to see. She finally stands still and waits for someone to talk.

Kurai breaks the silence. "You all do not belong here. This place isn't meant to be ran over. Your ducks and geese haven't laid any eggs! There will be no profits!"

Yuki starts towards her mother, but Madara gets there first. He corners Kurai and threatens Yuki. "Give me that necklace or I will end her right here and now."

Yuki stops moving. She slowly reaches up and removes her necklace. The slightly heavy chain weighs nearly nothing in her hand. She is ready to toss it to Madara when Kurai yells, "Yuki don't! Don't give it to him!"

Madara hisses, "Be quiet woman. If she wants to hand over her advantage, let her."

Yuki speaks to her mother, "Mom, it's okay. So what if he can channel his power to this world? That doesn't mean he automatically wins or anything…." She trails off at the look of horror on her mother's face.

Kurai half-whispers, "That is not what the necklace is meant to do."

Yuki brings the necklace closer to herself again. "What does it do then?"

Kurai replies, "He doesn't want to use it for it's purpose. He wants to make the worlds one. Our world, their world, it would be one world."

Yuki involuntarily takes a step back. "You mean everyone and everything from the Naruto world would come HERE?"

Kurai nods.

Yuki pales and stares at Madara with newfound fear. "I cannot allow that! It would mean the end of everything. You can't honestly think I would help you!"

Madara shrugs. "It's your choice little girl. The necklace or your mother."

Yuki covers her eyes. "If I give you the necklace you will ruin the world. If I don't give it to you, my world will be safe but you will end my mother? Those are not choices, they are threats!"

Madara shrugs. "An illusion of a choice is better than none at all. Be quick now, I don't think I can restrain myself much longer." As he speaks, he moves closer to Kurai, who flinches and moves back more.

Yuki winces. "Mom!" She growls, "Get away from her you jerk!"

Madara stops advancing and turns back to Yuki. By now, the other Akatsuki members had left the room to find other things to do, leaving the room empty but for the 3 of them. With a smirk, he says, "Well, well, well. Look who has grown a backbone. Too bad I will have to break it to earn my rewards." He begins advancing towards Yuki when she holds out the necklace.

Yuki waves the necklace. "You want it so bad? Go get it!" Yuki throws the necklace with all her might towards the laundry chute. By some miracle, the necklace falls into the chute and slides down. Without a second thought, Madara jumps in after it. He can be heard a few feet below cackling; clearly he got the necklace.

Kurai bursts into tears. "How could you give him the necklace? Now we are all doomed Yuki. The fish will swim too far, the sky will disappear. All the ninjas will appear and the snow will not stop."

Yuki gets her mom's attention. "Where did the necklace come from? What does it really do? Who are we really?"

Kurai just stares at Yuki. "The necklace has always been ours. I don't know where it came from. It was stolen a long time ago, by a jealous person who wanted it's power. They were unable to use it properly though. No one has ever used it for it's real purpose."

Yuki holds her mother's hand and asks again, "What is it's real purpose?"

Kurai mutters, "Eternal."

Yuki presses the family question again. "Who are we mom? Who are the Ishiko?"

Kurai doesn't answer for a while. When she does, she says, "We are people, like everyone else. If it means so much to you, you were born here. I was not. But that is okay. The Ice and Snow will never forget me. I will forget it, and I will not remember but it will always know."

Yuki has no idea if she should believe her mother or not. Regardless, she was going to see this problem through to the end. "Mom, you stay here okay? I am going down to see what Madara and the others are doing." Kurai nods, and Yuki runs downstairs.

As she reaches the large main room below, Madara cackles at her. "You're too late girl! The world's will now merge and become one. No longer will we be just a story! Prepare to meet the end of your world." With that, he snaps the necklace into place and concentrates his chakra. Yuki gulps as a massive, swirling black vortex appears. Madara laughs wildly. "You see? This is it for you! Say goodbye to everything you hold dear, for in a moment this world will be consumed by ours and will cease to exist!"

Yuki looks around the group of confident people before holding out her hand. "I think you forgot something, Madara."

Madara frowns and squints to see what she is holding. In horror, he looks down at the necklace.

Yuki holds out the centerpiece of the necklace chain a little further. "I wonder what happens if you don't have all the pieces?"

There is a loud crash followed by a blinding light. When Yuki's eyes adjust, she notes that none of the Naruto characters are there. The necklace, however, lay abandoned on the floor. Cautiously, Yuki approaches the necklace and picks it up. Nothing happens. Yuki reattaches the red medallion to the center of the chain and goes back upstairs.  
Kurai bounces towards her daughter and hugs her tight. "I knew you would figure it out! Now it won't be a problem looming like bushes over everything." Yuki nods. She didn't understand what Kurai said, but she suspected there was a lot more to her problems that just mere craziness.

Yuki leaves her mother that day with full intention of figuring out what was really wrong with her.

_Yuki takes a day and a night to calm down and reflect on everything that happened. After much thought, Yuki decides to keep wearing the necklace. It was hers after all, and it would most likely prove useful in finding out about her family._

_The next day, Yuki heads back to Black Rose Manor. _

It is quite a surprise to Yuki that the staff of the Manor find Kurai to be different from before. As if by magic, Kurai has become cured of her ailments, both mental and physical. The doctors have no choice but to release her. Yuki is thrilled and brings Kurai to her home immediately.

It takes Yuki a few days to tell her mother everything that happened and what she guessed or learned from the experiences. Kurai comments every now and then, but for the most part, she is quiet.

Yuki is concerned, but cannot get anything else out of her mother. Deciding Kurai will tell her in her own time, Yuki does not force the matter.

**TBC! one more chapter ought to finish this one off. after that, perhaps a sequel! or perhaps not XD I dont know if anyone would want to read it. **


	11. Chapter 11

**Still not the owner of Naruto**  
**Story start:**

_Epilogue_

Yuki awakes to the sound of chirping birds. She smiles softly and gets out of bed. She tidies her room and gets dressed before cheerfully entering her mother's room to get her up too.

"Rise and shine mother! It's a beautiful day and I don't want to waste a moment of it!" Yuki crosses the room to open the curtains and fill the room with sunlight. She turns to face her mother, only to find the bed empty. From the looks of it, it hadn't even been slept in. Yuki frowns at the folded up paper at the foot of the bed. With shaking fingers, Yuki picks up the note and reads it.

_"Dearest Daughter,_

_I hope you can one day forgive me for leaving you again. The truth is that I cannot be around you. Now that I am myself, I have to be myself. Do not look for me and do not blame yourself. I am who I am, and you are who you are. Keep living your life as you wish. I hope one day we can meet again, though I understand if you do not wish to do so." _

_The letter was signed "Kurai I." _

Yuki stands there in shock for a moment before falling to her knees on the floor. Yuki crumples the paper in her hand. She sobs for a moment, then yells. "HOW COULD YOU?!"

Yuki begins throwing things around and screaming, having no other ideas how to react. Nothing was normal, nothing was right and now she had no way of figuring anything out. It was enough to drive HER mad.

****************************************  
**To where Kurai is … **  
*******************************

Kurai is bowing before someone, muttering her apologies for being gone so long. There is silence before her groveling is answered.

"I cannot believe the Akatsuki almost got the necklace. That you failed to bring it to me makes me question your motives, Kurai. You know very well I want that necklace to help me with my immortality." The man gestures at her. "Rise, and let us go speak to Sasuke now. He is overly proud of himself for not giving away your secret and needs to be brought down a few pegs."

Kurai smiles. "As you say, Master Orochimaru."

***********************************

**Back to where Yuki is … **  
**********************************

Yuki pounds her fists against the walls of her new room, completely upset and unhappy. Yuki is now a resident of Black Rose Manor herself. The staff there are surprised to see her here, but there is no doubt that she belonged. After finding her mother's note, Yuki had went to the police for help. When she told them about the ninjas and all, however, they forwarded her to Black Rose Manor. No matter what the staff of the Manor did, Yuki would not calm down. They were forced to put her in isolation to keep her from hurting herself or anyone else.

She didn't like it.

She didn't like it _one bit. _

Yuki punches the wall once more, then touches her necklace in irritation. There were so many unanswered questions. There were still so many mysteries left unsolved.

Black Rose Manor couldn't hold her forever. She would get out someday, and when that day came, she would go after her mother. Her mother hadn't told her much of anything, sadly. However, Yuki did learn one thing from the whole situation. That one thing fueled her rage and desire and determination.

Her mother was hiding too much from her. How one could ask for forgiveness then roll right into an insult was beyond Yuki.

Whatever Kurai's reasons, Yuki was bent on making her tell the truth once and for all.

She just hoped the truth was worth fighting for.

**END!~ (unless I write the**** sequel… haha)**

**Please review/mail if you liked this. Thank you to all those who have read this. Seeing that people have followed the story and whatnot really made my day~! **


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